In the middle of the night, Qi Rong crawled out of bed, went to the table, and lit the oil lamp.
“Why are you lighting a lamp? Afraid of snakes even when you’re going to the latrine?” Qi Chong asked irritably.
Qi Rong sat upright, his back straight, and looked at his older brother with a solemn expression, as if preparing to confess a grave crime.
“Big Brother, today I went clam-picking with Sister-in-law. She discovered *sanbu-tiao*. She was really happy—so happy she started jumping. Extremely, extremely happy…”
Qi Chong cut him off impatiently. “What are you trying to say?”
With the expression of someone heading to the execution ground, Qi Rong shut his eyes and blurted out at top speed,
“Sister-in-law hugged me. She wrapped her arms around me. I didn’t do it on purpose. Tonight I’ll sleep with Mom.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Qi Rong bolted, sprinting straight into his mother’s room.
Qi Chong sat up, sighed helplessly, and got out of bed while carefully moving his injured leg to blow out the lamp.
Brat. Who even takes him seriously?
Late at night, Chen Ruolan started coughing again. Although she had taken medicine, it hadn’t worked that quickly. Perhaps because the coughing was softer, Yu Chunmiao didn’t wake up.
Qi Chong slowly got up, lit the lamp, and went to his mother’s room.
“Mom, Mom, wake up and drink some loquat water before going back to sleep.”
Chen Ruolan woke up and saw her youngest son lying beside her.
“Why is he here? Did he press on your leg while sleeping?”
Qi Chong poured water as he replied, “He didn’t press my leg. He was worried you’d cough at night and wanted to wake you to drink water.”
Chen Ruolan took the bowl, drank, and handed it back empty.
“He wouldn’t wake up even if thunder struck. How could my little coughing wake him?”
She said that, but warmth spread through her heart. Her husband was gone, life was hard, yet the three children he left behind were all good kids. Even her daughter-in-law was capable and clever—only three days after entering the household, she had already earned money. Life, at least, was moving in a better direction.
Thinking this way, Chen Ruolan felt much more at ease, and even her coughing eased a little that night.
The next morning, Qi Chong got up at four to brew medicine for his mother and make breakfast. Just as he put the rice into the pot, Yu Chunmiao wandered into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. Her hair was still uncombed, messy and tousled, her eyes half-closed as she yawned.
Seeing how sleepy she was, Qi Chong said, “Why don’t you go back to sleep for a bit? I’ll wake you once the food’s ready.”
She was truly exhausted. She had already felt worn out, and after waiting so long for her hair to dry the night before, all she wanted now was to curl up under the covers.
She nodded mechanically, turned around, and went back to bed for a second sleep.
Hearing noises from the kitchen, Chen Ruolan suddenly opened her eyes. *I really slept too deeply last night. It wouldn’t do to let her daughter-in-law handle everything alone. She hurriedly got dressed and rushed to the kitchen—only to see her eldest son busy at work.
“Oh, it’s you. I thought it was Chunmiao,” Chen Ruolan said, yawning as she joined him to prepare breakfast.
By the time breakfast was done, it was already past five. Qi Chong went to Yu Chunmiao’s door and raised his hand to knock—just as the door suddenly opened.
Yu Chunmiao rushed out and crashed straight into Qi Chong’s chest.
Qi Chong stumbled backward, about to fall. Yu Chunmiao instinctively grabbed his belt and yanked him back with all her strength. She used real force—afraid she wouldn’t be strong enough to pull him back otherwise.
The man came back upright… but the belt came loose.
Qi Chong’s clothes fell open just like that, exposing his upper body completely to her view.
Yu Chunmiao froze, belt still in her hand, staring blankly at the scene before her. Smooth, well-defined muscles. Broad shoulders tapering down to a narrow waist. Lean, sculpted abs with clear contours, and deep V-lines disappearing into the waistband.
A male model.
Yu Chunmiao swallowed unconsciously. An overwhelming urge rose in her—to reach out and touch.
Qi Chong noticed her staring straight at his body, and his face flushed bright red in an instant. Not knowing how to break the awkward silence, he remembered why he had come in the first place.
“Breakfast’s ready. Let’s eat,” he said hoarsely, his voice barely recognizable. He cleared his throat.
Yu Chunmiao lifted her head at the sound of his voice—his handsome face was right in front of her. Though she had lived freely for nearly thirty years, she had never truly experienced romance. Now, wrapped in that overwhelming masculine presence, her heart felt like a rabbit caught by the ears—kicking wildly, completely out of control.
Her gaze lingered for a few uncontrollable seconds.
“Oh…” she murmured, then fled toward the kitchen as if escaping.
…
“Why are you holding Chong’er’s belt?” Chen Ruolan asked.
Seeing her daughter-in-law rush in red-faced and flustered, clutching her son’s belt, Chen Ruolan’s mind instantly filled with all sorts of images. No matter which one it was, her son was clearly not properly dressed.
Only then did Yu Chunmiao realize what she was holding. She hurried back, shoved the belt into Qi Chong’s hands—he had just been about to go fetch a new one—and turned around immediately.
Taking advantage of the excuse to wash up, Yu Chunmiao splashed cold water onto her face again and again.
…
After tying his belt, Qi Chong went to his mother’s room and woke his younger brother, who was pretending to sleep.
Qi Rong looked at his big brother nervously, fully expecting a beating. Instead, Qi Chong smiled gently and said warmly, “Get up and eat. When you go dig for banxia later, be careful. Don’t go too far.”
After that, he even rubbed Qi Rong’s head before leaving.
Qi Rong touched the back of his head in disbelief.
He had really overthought everything. To Qi Chong, he was just a kid. Only he himself insisted on seeing himself as a man. The whole family merely humored him by calling him a “grown man.”
Besides, Qi Chong was in an especially good mood this morning. His mind was full of Yu Chunmiao’s flustered, blushing face.
It seemed… she was quite satisfied with him.
Sigh… if only it weren’t for this leg.
Should he make a trip to the county town? One visit might solve everything. Still… better wait a few more days.
…
After breakfast, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law headed to the market.
Zuohe Village was close to Qingshui Town—just over twenty kilometers by modern measurement. Following the river made the walk easy. In ancient terms, one li was less than five hundred meters, so the total distance was only about eleven kilometers.
They arrived at the market at six-thirty. With experience from last time, they sold out all the clams in under two hours.
Yu Chunmiao counted the money—four hundred and sixteen coins.
“Mom, let’s buy some meat today. And some vegetables too.”
Chen Ruolan smiled. “Meat is fine, but no need to buy vegetables. I sowed some seedlings earlier—they should be ready now.”
Seedlings planted too closely had to be thinned anyway.
As a modern person, Yu Chunmiao truly couldn’t stand coarse rice. She asked timidly, “Mom… I want to eat white rice and white flour.”
Chen Ruolan agreed without hesitation. The money was earned by her daughter-in-law—how could she object? Besides, Chunmiao looked malnourished. At sixteen, she still looked fourteen or fifteen—thin and small. She really needed better food.
At the butcher’s stall, Yu Chunmiao was surprised to find her body craving fatty meat, even though she had disliked it in her previous life.
But fat was expensive—fifteen coins per jin, while lean meat cost only ten.
She compromised: more lard when cooking.
She bought one jin of lean meat and half a jin of pork belly, spending seventeen coins.
At the grain shop, white rice was eight coins per jin—she bought five jin. White flour was seven coins per jin—another five. Coarse rice was cheap at four coins per jin, so she bought five jin as well.
Total spent: ninety-five coins.
They had three hundred and four coins left.
“Mom,” Yu Chunmiao whispered, “adding the three hundred and seven from last time, we now have six hundred and eleven coins. Let’s go ask the clinic about banxia. If the price is good, we can sell it for a long time.”
Lowering her voice further, she added, “There’s a lot of it in the mountains. I don’t think anyone here knows what it is.”